State and Society in the Process of Formulating Public Policy of Education: Contributions of Stephen Ball

This article addresses the concepts and definitions in the process of formulating and implementing public policies, approaching the cycles of public policies, as well as strategies for better management in the elaboration of a policy, especially in education. The problem to be answered in this article is "what is the process of formulating public education policies regarding the contributions of Stephen Ball and others?". As a hypothesis, we point out that popular participation is the result of most of the definitions of education policy. The contributions of sociologist Stephen Ball are essential, in a perspective of stimulating and understanding education policies, as he is considered one of the sociologists with the most relevant publications on education policy studies in the United Kingdom and in other countries.